Road to Guadalupe

Please check out this video and the text below to learn a little more about this project. If you like what you see, I hope you will consider a contribution. ¡Gracias!

Click here for Quicktime version

(Additional photography courtesy Andrea Marcanti, Jorge Luis Marzo and John Wood)

Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the most recognizable symbols of both Mexican-American and Mexican cultures. Often called the patron saint of the Americas and protector of the downtrodden, she is revered by both women and men as a generous, compassionate and loving figure.

To me, she is fascinating. How does this devotion to the Holy Mother translate into the lives of Chicanas and Mexicanas? For some, her image is oppressive, representing an impossible ideal to which Brown women are expected to aspire. For others, she is a link to pre-colonial Mexico and the Aztec goddess Tonantzin, or a way for Chicana Feminists to reconcile their spiritual beliefs with the patriarchal nature of the Catholic Church.

Some Chicanas and Mexicanas have adjusted this icon to better represent what they thought she stood for. A fabulous (and my favorite) example of this is artist Yolanda Lopez's Guadalupe series, depicting realistic Mexican and Chicana women with Guadalupe-like attributes. Her re-imaging of La Virgen is what inspires me to explore this relationship further.

Between February and April of 2008, I will travel through the North American Southwest, starting near San Francisco, California and ending near Mexico City at Tepeyac, the site of La Virgen's apparition in the 16th century. On the road, I will shoot interviews with several Mexican and Mexican-American women about how The Lady of Guadalupe fits into their lives, and each week, I will post a short video on my vlog (or videoblog).

My goal is to illuminate the experiences of Chicana and Mexicana women as impacted by La Virgen de Guadalupe and her role in our culture. Personally, I am interested in exploring this concept as a way to also explore my own identity as a Chicana, having been surrounded by Guadalupe devotees my entire life, but never having fully shared that sense of devotion. By the end of this trip, I hope to have a better idea of where I fit into all of this.

I have already saved enough money to cover the cost of production (camera, sound, etc.). My intention now is to raise sufficient funds for travel (by bus), food and lodging. If you would like to know more, please do not hesitate to contact me at ashley.pinedo@gmail.com. Also, if you would prefer to contribute via check by snail mail, my address is below. ¡Muchas gracias!

Paz y amor,
Ashley Pinedo
PO Box 887
Claypool, AZ 85532